Richard Deschênes

Richard Deschênes (1957-2021) was born in Lac-Saint-Jean and lived and worked in Montréal. After studying fine arts at Concordia University and at Pratt Graphics Center in New York, he pursued and developed his art practice for over thirty years. Deschênes explored the overlapping areas between painting, drawing and photography, and was interested in the perception, reproduction and temporality of images. Inspired by science and human aspirations, his pictorial research focused on transformation, abstractional shifts, and the sense of loss and growing uncertainty in the face of knowledge.

Richard Deschênes was awarded numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. He enjoyed extended stays in several cities, including New York, London, Barcelona, Mallorca, Berlin, Paris and Shanghai, often as part of artist residencies. He took part in  solo and group exhibitions throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, Spain, Austria, France, China and Japan. His work is featured in the collections of the Prêt d’oeuvres d’art du Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Musée d’art de Joliette, the Canada Council Art Bank, and many corporate and private collections.